An artist has attempted to recreate the scene of a fatal officer-involved shooting, which ended in the death of a 16-year-old, in the form of a sculpture.

Authorities in Espanola received a call from a teen reporting himself as a suspicious person last year. Police said the teen, Victor Villalpando, pulled what looked like a gun on officers. They fired back, killing him.

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His mother, Mary Schumacher, first saw the art months ago.

“My reaction was amazement at how he got my son’s demeanor,” she said.

Her son is a lone figure, looking at two police officers with their guns pointed at him.

A grand jury ruled the officer was justified in the shooting because Villalpando pulled what police thought was a gun, but turned out to be a toy.

“The two policemen were standing with their guns out facing my son,” said Schumacher.

The sculpture attempts to capture that moment. Villalpando’s death really hit home for the El Rito artist, Nicholas Herrera.

“I've known this kid since he was a little boy,” Herrera said.

Herrera said that's why he created the piece with such distinct features, the headphones and clothing, just like the teen used to wear.

“My son's body, he was a very muscular young man,” said Schumacher. “Nick showed that in the piece.”

She said Herrera managed to capture something else.

“The police were so scary,” she said.

The tiny gold pieces featured in the sculpture are real bullets on the officers’ belts. Herrera said that's meant to be a strong message for anyone who sees his work.

“I just want kids to know that you don't play around with cops,” he said.

Herrera sold the piece to a private collector on the East Coast, but he said that buyer plans to loan it out to several public exhibitions.